IRS, check.... Census, check......

Gee, I wonder how this happened.

Census Adds Question About Health Insurance

I haven't paid much attention to the upcoming 2010 Census, until the recent death of part-time Census worker Bill Sparkman, whose death under unclear circumstances is being shamelessly exploited by left-wing blogs.

I went to the Census website, and took a look at the questions which will be asked, to see whether the questions were as intrusive as some claim.

Yes, the Census questions are highly intrusive, asking about household plumbing, how many people live in the house, etcetera. On a personal level, my natural inclination would be to say "none of your damn business" as to many of the questions.

But most of these intrusive questions have been asked for decades, and in some cases, for centuries. This doesn't make the questions any less intrusive, but it is hard to claim the 2010 Census is out of the ordinary as to most of the questions.

With one exception. The Census document listing the questions which will be asked reflects a new multi-part question (beginning at page 68), which collects information regarding health care insurance coverage. Question 15 on the new Census asks whether each of the following forms of insurance apply to each person in the household:

a. Insurance through a current or former employer or union (of this person or another family member)

b. Insurance purchased directly from an insurance company (by this person or another family member)

c. Medicare, for people 65 and older, or people with certain disabilities

d. Medicaid, Medical Assistance, or any kind of government-assistance
plan for those with low incomes or a disability

f. VA (including those who have ever used or enrolled for VA health care)

e. TRICARE or other military health care

g. Indian Health Service

h. Any other type of health insurance or health coverage plan – Specify

The Census explanation for adding this question is as follows:

This question was added to the American Community Survey (ACS) to enable the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and other federal agencies to more accurately distribute resources and better understand state and local health insurance needs.

Planning and implementing many federal health programs requires accurate state and local information on health insurance status. Obtaining data on the uninsured rate among Americans is of great importance to policy makers at federal, state, and local levels.